Lost Souls

Star Trek: Destiny #3

by David Mack

The soldiers of Armageddon are on the march, laying waste to worlds in their passage. An audacious plan could stop them forever, but it carries risks that one starship captain is unwilling to take. For Captain Jean-Luc Picard, defending the future has never been so important, or so personal -- and the wrong choice will cost him everything for which he has struggled and suffered.

For Captain William Riker, that choice has already been made. Haunted by the memories of those he was forced to leave behind, he must jeopardize all that he has left in a desperate bid to save the Federation.

For Captain Ezri Dax, whose impetuous youth is balance by the wisdom of many lifetimes, the choice is a simple one: there is no going back -- only forward to whatever future awaits them.

But for those who, millennia ago, had no choice...this is the hour of their final, inescapable destiny.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera, Media Tie In, Star Trek The Next Generation

444 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2008

About the author

David Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 36 novels of science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.

Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.

Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The destiny of the Federation concludes!


This is the third novel in a “Star Trek” book trilogy named “Destiny”


AND THEN, YOUR HEART JUST STOPPED

Going into battle against great odds can be brave or noble – but going into battle without a plan is worse than futile, it’s wasteful.

A multinational fleet of almost 350 ships was forming a line of defense against the Borg at the Azure Nebula.

But, it was a futile action…

…a Borg armada of almost 7,500 cubes (Yes! You read right!) crossed through a subspace tunnel with such devastating force that the only way to describe it was to be literally a stampede, where the Borg cubes didn’t even bother to shoot their weapons, with only their nightmarish numbers and speed, they massacred the puny fleet, in a matter of seconds.

Immediately, the Borg armada separated in battle groups moving toward each planet in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, mainly against the Federation, the Klingon Empire and the Romulans, but definitely also targeting any other civilization over there…

…And this was the cardiac cliffhanger in the previous book of the trilogy!!!


FEDERATION’S DARKEST HOUR

Why think small? Thinking is free.

Assimilation isn’t Borg’s procedure anymore, the Borg’s ultimate goal is to murder everybody and to destroy everything around the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

The Borg armada is only hours from reaching planets like Deneva and Risa, Qo’noS (the Klingon Homewolrd) is also near of their grasp, they are less than a day from Earth, and barely about a couple of days from reaching the rest of Core Planets in the Federation.

And sure as hell, the Borg Queen is leading the Borg armada!

Starfleet in a desperate movement, it sends the technical specifications of the futuristic Transphasic Torpedoes to the rest of Starfleet vessels and even to the Klingon Defense Force, however…

…each firing shot, while able of destroying Borg cubes, makes to be one closer step for the Borg to find a way to be adapted against that weapon from the future.

The entire combination of civilizations in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants are barely days from complete obliteration.

Blood will make oceans. Planets will be on flames.

Nobody and nothing will be left to remember us.


HEROES’ PATH IS NEVER EASY TO WALK

…if I’ve learned anything, it’s that there are always alternatives to killing.

Captains Jean-Luc Picard, William T. Riker, Ezri Dax and Erika Hernandez are the only ones in a position to find a way to stop the Borg, but…

…only if they would have a plan to make for that!

The USS Enterprise-E, the USS Titan and the USS Aventine are in the Azure Nebula on their own. Starfleet Command doesn’t have any orders to give, no plan, no strategy.

The Borg invasion is just too large, too fast, too overwhelming, for any battle scenario ever conceived by Starfleet Command, and the Klingon Defense Force can only think that today is a good day to die.

The Borg only think in killing every single life form in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, they don’t make truces, they don’t negotiate, they don’t spare civilians, they don’t have mercy,…

…therefore a peaceful solution seems to be a far-fetched attempt.

What are we going to do?

The same thing that we always do. – The impossible.

However, Ezri Dax, William Riker, Jean-Luc Picard and Erika Hernandez are Starfleet Captains. They are an unique breed of people. Risk is their business. Making a difference is why they seat at the Command Chair. Finding the road of peace, in the middle of the darkness of war, is their best destiny.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting ending to the trilogy.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible conclusion to an epic, thrilling Trek story with some mind blowing reveals about the true nature and origin of the Borg. With the Federation facing imminent and total annihilation, the crews of the Enterprise, the Aventine and the Titan join forces for a much anticipated showdown against the Borg. Descriptions of the Borg collective consciousness and the experience of being devoured by its malevolence, erasing all traces of individuality and freedom are beyond chilling. This series was fantastic in so many ways, and certainly deserves its status as one of the most popular and enduring Trek stories.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Destiny, more than any other story within the vast library of Star Trek fiction, is a huge inflection point in the Trek universe and is pointed to as the moment when everything changed. We all knew that (at the time) canon Trek had moved on and the writers were free to play in the universe as they wished, but the monumental events chronicled in these novels blew everything to this point out of the water. David Mack did not hold back at all when telling this story, and it's to his credit that it works as well as it does. The events of this trilogy defined Star Trek novels for the decade following its publication, a distinction that is very well-earned. Needless to say, Lost Souls and the preceding two novels are must-reads for any fan of Star Trek fiction.

Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2020/04/Desti...

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mediocre read, overly dark, and tarnishing of major Trek characters.

[Mary Fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

*mind blown*

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost Souls is a very satisfying conclusion to the Destiny series. Not only are the Borg taken care of finally and forever but they’re taken care of in a way that cleaves to Roddenberry’s vision of the Federation. As the Federation president says after the end of the incursion:

“In keeping with the finest traditions of Starfleet, these three crews accomplished this not through violence, not through some brute force of arms, but with compassion. This war has been brought to an end not by bloodshed but by an act of mercy.

“They took a chance on the better angels of their natures, reached out to a new ally, and transformed the Borg Collective into something benign, perhaps even noble….” (p. 419)

We also discover the ultimate origins of the Collective. As we learned in ST:IV (the one with the whales), the human propensity for unthinking violence can come back to bite us in the arse in a big way – in this case, the final Borg incursion into Federation space with not one cube but 7,000+ and with the goal of galaxywide genocide not assimilation. Mack has a field day showing up the impotence of the Federation and its allies in the face of Borg technology, destroying some of the most iconic planets of Trek mythology, including Deneva.

A curmudgeon might object that the incursion’s resolution smacks too much of a deus ex machine, and they’d be right, but would you rather the Collective win? Besides, Mack is an excellent storyteller and you don’t mind the god-like intervention when it comes (in fact, you’ve been anticipating it).

There’s nothing envelope-pushing or mind-blowingly unique about this trilogy but as I’ve said about the author before, if you’re not looking for anything too serious that stays true to the characters and ethos of Star Trek (and introduces some interesting new characters), then Mack is the author for you.

Recommended to any Trekkie (or Trekker).

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh golly. No more Borg. Gone forever. Until we decide we want to try to sell books.

Why do I have "Shiny happy people holding hands" running through my head now? Because it turns out all the Borg needed was a big hug? Ugh.

[Hex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last of the three. While the story ends more than decently, with some very good dialogue and interesting scenes, generally it's just more of the same. The twist was nice, but unfortunately could be seen coming in the previous book already, and it became so obvious in this last installment prior to the reveal, that the actual reveal was mostly ruined.

This time around, I skipped a lot of the filler, and there really is A LOT of filler in this one. The pacing is off and very uneven. Entire fleets get destroyed in about the same amount of time and pages as two random people talk about their feelings.

What I feel is missing the most in all of these three books, is a writing style that engages the reader. I never felt truly engrossed in it, and that made the whole reading experience much worse than it could have been.

Perhaps this is caused, once again, by an author wanting to write a trilogy, when there's only a story to fill one decently sized book with, or two tops if you're stretching it. But I guess three books earn more money than one or two.

All in all this entire trilogy turned out mostly "meh" and my Star Trek reading itch has likely been cured for a long time to come. A 2,5 to 3/5 at best, rounding up.

[Wayland Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Destiny trilogy concludes here. The forces of the Federation square off against a massive Borg fleet, and it's going to be ugly. Among the Captain to root for are Jean-Luc Piccard, William Riker, and Ezri Dax. There's a massive fight brewing and things don't look great for Starfleet. Not everyone always get a happy ending.

We also see more history of the Borg than has ever been revealed before, and newer character Captain Erika Hernandez ends up taking a new approach to the menace of the Borg. There are big changes afoot in the Star Trek universe.

This is book three of a series. If you're coming in on this one, you're likely going to be a bit lost, even if you're familiar with Star Trek in general, and these characters in particular. I'd really advise reading the other two first.

[William Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great end to the trilogy which also answers some great questions and does what Star Trek is meant to do, inspire hope.

[Derkanus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Hernandez helps the Titan escape New Erigol by using her powers to force open a Caeliar data tunnel wide enough to take the ship through to the Azure Nebula. On the surface, Inyx operates on Troi and not only saves her life, but also saves the life of her baby.

Back in Federation space, the Borg are destroying world after world with indomitable waves of attack cubes. In a last-ditch effort, Admiral Jellico divulges the transphasic torpedo technology to every Federation ship and all their allies--but it's simply not enough to stop the onslaught, and before long the Borg adapt to them. T'Lana is killed on Vulcan; Tuvok's child is killed; Qo'nos is nearly destroyed; billions of people are killed.

Hernandez finds that she can hear the Collective, and realizes it's no coincidence how similar it is to the Caeliar gestalt. She devises a plan to infiltrate the Collective and usurp the Queen, and Captain Dax agrees--though Picard not so much. The Aventine uses its slipstream drive to travel a great distance and attacks a small Borg scout vessel; they board the ship, and using technology dampeners reverse-engineered from Hirogen technology, manage to kill all the Borg drones on the ship (though not without casualties). Hernandez connects to the vinculum, and for a short time, she gets the Borg cubes to turn their attacks on each other--saving several entire worlds from destruction. However, the Queen wrestles back control and nearly assimilates Hernandez using the scout ship itself; fortunately, Erika manages to sever the connection and makes it back to the Aventine in one piece--though she is deeply distraught by her time subjugated by the Collective.

As it turns out, the Caeliar gestalt and the Collective are one and the same--more or less. The lost Caeliar city of Mantilis crash-landed on a frozen planet, thousands of years in the past. With their city powerless and their bodies failing, the Caeliar merged their minds, leaving only one Caeliar: Sedin (Inyx's aeons-old friend that he liked to watch sunsets with, and who was a bit spiteful about the humans staying on Erigol). With most of her mind gone save for her primal instincts to survive and adapt, Sedin merges with 2 of the remaining human survivors--1 MACO and the footless Thayer--and has them eat the surviving MACO for sustenance. When an alien envoy later finds the snow-covered remains of the city, the human-Caeliar cyborgs assimilate them and the collective begins to expand.

Hernandez contacts the Caeliar and explains the Borg situation and together they hatch a plan: The Caeliar fly New Erigol to the Azure Nebula and unshield their planet, broadcasting Omega particle signatures across the galaxy. The Borg, who consider Particle 010 ultimate perfection, immediately redeploy their entire armada to the Azure Nebula. In an insane twist, Hernandez and the Caeliar assimilate the Borg into the gestalt--freeing the trillions of Borg throughout the galaxy (re-populating the near-extinct Caeliar population) and thus putting an end to the Borg Collective (for now?).

Hernandez returns to New Erigol with her BFF Inyx; Troi and Riker are beyond thrilled to be having their child; former Borg Picard and 7 of 9 are happier than they've ever been; the UFP starts to rebuild.

Review: 5 stars. Wow, this book was fantastic. I didn't think I really wanted to find out the Borg's origin (a la Darth Vader), but the way David Mack did it was both believable and satisfying--and it's especially crazy when you consider that characters from the show ENTERPRISE, of all shows, are more-or-less entirely responsible for the Borg's existence. Those who have recommended this trilogy stressed that the outcome changes everything--but I thought that meant Earth and/or Vulcan got destroyed or something...I never dreamed that the Borg would not only be eradicated completely and utterly, but also freed and redeemed! Wow. I can't fathom the balls it must've taken to even pitch that idea, but then to actually execute it, and do it so very well! The Federation's greatest threat is no more!

Aside from the shocking finale, the book was full of exciting battles (the Federation rallying against the Collective, only to get smacked down once the Borg adapted to their torpedoes) and great character moments (Geordi really shined when he refused to obey Picard's orders to create a thalaron weapon). It was also a real rollercoaster of emotions, with the tone shifting from utter destruction and despair throughout, to bittersweet hope and optimism at the end with the Borg gone and Picard and Riker so happy about their families--but the entire Federation in shambles.

Excellent book. If you're a fan of TNG, you owe it to yourself to read this. I doubt I'll read another Star Trek book that I enjoy this much.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of the Federation as we know it. While the three captains, Picard, Dax and Riker try to find a way to save the Federation from the onslaught that 7000 Borg cubes are about to unleash, a fourth story takes us in a different part of the galaxy, some 6000 years ago where we will find the answer to the question "Who are the Borg and how did they come to be?". It is a tale of survival against all odds, but above all else it's a tale of hunger, solitude, frustration, desire, longing to reunite.
The scenes depicting the assault of the Borg probe by the joint security teams of the three starships is incredibly well written. Fast paced, morally challenging and a great recreation of what it means to fight the Borg.

In the end, Captain Erika Hernandez proves instrumental in the transformation of the Borg Collective mind into something completely benign, thus ending decades of war with the Federation and thousands of years of enslavement for all the species in the Galaxy that fell under the Borg boot.

Even if the Federation managed to survive its eleventh hour, losing 60 billion people will surely change it. Meanwhile, the voyages of starship Titan continue. Its mission: to seek out new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has ever gone before.

This trilogy is an amazing work that I highly recommend to anyone who at least enjoyed the tv series and the movies. Great story, amazing characters, nice twists and many space battles! Do yourself a favour and read these books!

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't mind stories that are told in installments, particularly if you LIKE stories that are continued from one book to another without any attempt to make each book independantly readable, then consider this a five-star review; I dock it one star for having no beginning, but rather coming in in the middle of a story.

Even if you like that sort of thing, though, there are caveats to my rating; if you have not been keeping up with all of the various plotlines in the "Next Generation" series, the "Titan" series, the "DS9" series, and the "Voyager" series, even starting with the first book of this series, "Gods of Night", will not allow you to feel that you aren't coming in in the middle of the third act of a five-act play. Worse, some of what is mentioned casually in this series as backstory provides spoilers for what happens in some of those other books. Although this book in particular, and this series in general, are very well-written, I can't recommend them to anyone who either is NOT fully current on all of the above-mentioned Star Trek series, or who doesn't care about having other stories spoiled for them. Further, good as the series is, I'm unconvinced that it's good enough to justify reading all of the neccessary prerequisites if you weren't going to, anyway, just to be ready for this series. There is such a thing as TOO MUCH continuity. I think this series has reached and surpassed that point.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destiny has been a great trilogy. Lost Souls is a lot better than the previous book. Maybe it's because there's a lot more action here and it focuses less on the people lost in time. Although the last book did leave with a great cliffhanger of thousands or Borg coming into Klingon, Federation, and Romulan space.

Speaking of which, Lost Souls has to do more with the Borg and their origins than anything else. Now while this might not be canon, it still made for a good story. Part of me wished it was canon. I doubt they'll follow this story as an origin. The origin made a lot of sense and didn't weaken the Borg by any means.

Something I did enjoy was the fact of how each respective world and person dealt with their imminent destruction. I thought that added a lot to the story and made it deeper than it would have been otherwise. Without it, it would have been purely a plot driven book.

The only downside with this book and trilogy, is that what happens to the Borg. I didn't expect that to happen but when you're dealing with a trilogy that has damn near every Borg invade the Alpha Quadrant, there really wasn't any other way they could have gone with it.

I'm more curious to what's going to happen post-this trilogy. There's a lot of things that have to be dealt with because the Alpha Quadrant is pretty much up for grabs.

[Christel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful series. I shed a few tears, like the giant baby I am. My only beef is the way the author incorporated Voyager into the book. Tom Paris, Chakotay's FIRST OFFICER? This probably happened in another author's book somewhere down the line, but I literally lol'd at this image. I was not pleased at how easily Voyager was tossed to the back burner of the story, given their extensive history with the Borg. Let's just blow it up and kill everyone, then not touch on it again for the rest of the book. No biggie.

Also it would have been nice to have some closure with Seven. I felt like her emotional breakdown at the end deserved more attention, or at least equal attention to that which was paid to Picard's. I thought bringing original Voyager crew members in and not giving them much attention beyond that was kind of cheap. Luckily the series was engaging otherwise, so I can forgive this little faux pas.

[Jenny T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Three of the Destiny trilogy was heavier than the previous two books, as Our Heroes finally meet the Borg face-to-face and a good deal of the Federation's forces (and worlds) are attacked and destroyed. The origin of the Borg is revealed, and the war will leave everything changed. But while the battles rage, there are some wonderful character developments, some excellent science fiction, and some good Trek.

In other words, the book was everything I'd hoped it would be, and the very complete, very hopeful ending left me crying into my tea. Fantastic.

edited to add: And this rather makes me want to read ALL the Star Trek books I've missed over the past ten years.

[joseph R. Hylton · Rating 3 out of 5]

GREAT CONCEPT POOR EXECUTION

Yet another wonderful battle with the Borg: Voyager style...yawn. So in one series we find the beginnings of the Borg and the demise of the same said collective in three books. seems a bit rushed to me. Not to mention far fetched. The Borg are taken from extreme pacifism and turned into the power hungry collective by a simple matter of hunger. sorry cant buy it. Even in science fiction there still has to be an element of reality to hold on to. i always saw the begininng of the Collective as a medical experiment or accident gone wrong or as an act of the evolution of medical technologies. This was too long and drawn out to be feasible.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I try to shy away from Star Trek books, since most are just so poorly written, but I tried my luck and was richly rewarded!

This entire trilogy is just awesome! It's Trek at it's best. Besides the typical trek writing, my other fear was "Oh great, another book about the borg, the Enterprise narrowly escaping and saving the day" but was pleasantly surprised that that wasn't the case (well of course to some degree it was LOL), and along the way, huge things happened that were just awesome.

If you're a sci fi fan, but leery of Trek books, give this series a shot, it's a good read!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of the Destiny trilogy. The Borg is invading the Federation, and nothing can stop them. It is a real page turning read. We find out the Borgs origin story, and it changes how the Borg is viewed. It's difficult to review without spoiling the book. You need to have read the other Destiny books to really enjoy this. A very good read.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, but as indicated in the reviews for the first two books in this trilogy, the ending was absolutely predictable. If was painfully obvious from the beginning that the Borg were descended from the Caeliar and that the Caeliar would be able to bring an end to the Borg menance thereby saving the Federation.

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite in the trilogy. Destiny did not disappoint!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost Souls blasts off straight after the previous book with Riker, Ezri, Picard and co all confronting the biggest Borg invasion yet with thousands of vessels attacking and invading both the Federation and it allies! :D

From the outset this outset things are incredibly tense and action packed! :D The Borg continue to roll over systems and given their lack of trying to hide themselves everyone knows when their world is due to be hit and come to the Borg's direct attention! :D This keeps up an incredible level of tension throughout for instance where you see Federation President Bacco receiving the reports and having to adjust on the fly after defeats and victories keep coming in! :D On the starships Enterprise, Titan and Aventine a similar battle is being fought with each crew having to adjust to working with each other as they come up with vastly different ideas on how to combat this ongoing threat! :D It in these circumstances much to Picard's chagrin that Ezri seems to take charge and come up with the great plans and often with Riker's support! :D This opens up a clever can of worms as Picard's clear past with the Borg is clearly having an effect on him something we have seen with him in the past but in this case is clearly having a more pronounced effect! :D This put an interesting spin and dynamic on events with Picard almost coming across as the unstable one but Dax and Riker on scene things are kept of an even keel! :D This for example is also exemplified in the where Geordi refuses to build a Thalaron Weapon on Picard's orders! :D Throughout there are character moment coming all over the place and this builds and neatly dovetails throughout all the battles that they crew are put through! :D

The book does not spare the battle scenes either as throughout they come thick and fast! :D This gives the Klingons the opportunity to do there thing and Martok on the IKS Sword of Kahless and Klag on the IKS Gorgon get to there thing! :D Martok's bring me a drink is laugh out loud and neatly counterpoints the heroics and causalities going on around them! :D At the same time the actions of Donatra's Romulans, the Klingons and their other allies really rings home that in spite of the Borg's acts it brining together disparate people's into an alliance that bodes for a very different universe post Borg! :D This actually forms a serious part of the book as Bacco manoeuvrers other states into aiding them with deft policies! :D Her advisory team is also a hoot throughout as well with Admiral Akaar and Wexler, getting to show the Klingons and Romulans Federation gunboat diplomacy! :D They are also advised amongst others by Seven who has neat plot twist throughout that are bound to have an impact later down the line! :D This is also another thing done excellently throughout the book with snippets catching up with other characters such as Morgan Bateson in battle with the USS Atlas! :D Heroics and battle scenes are aplenty! :D This complements nicely with the action and political debates going on throughout! :D President Bacco and Admiral Akaar and former Admiral West's scenes serve as a way to keep an eye on the big picture as well as lend ironically comic asides! :D

The help of the Caeliar with Hernandez really jibes well and the revaluations about the Borg's origins are neatly and deftly handled with the mystery of the piling up! :D The neat set up for the this and the temporal displacements needed to make this happen is brilliantly handled and also gives us an origin date for the Borg (4527 BCE) neatly explains how they spread so far and how they got such a running start over other races! :D Plus as a neat aside explains why they have such a human originated name! :D

The world building in immense amongst all the character and action moments throughout with hints being dropped throughout Lost Souls throughout! :D What the characters, the Federation and is allies go through in the book will not doubt have significant ramifications in future books, games etc and the book does a brilliant job of setting this up as well as conducting the latest Borg crises! :D It also manages to tie everything up with the previous events as well as lighting a fire under our characters! :D

Lost Souls is frenetic from start to finish! :D Full of commentary on sentient beings. Nobility, a study on what the Borg could be driven to, never surrender mentalities, humanity and making the right choices and rousing messages! :D It full of lump in your throat moments, edge of of the seat action, heroics, surprising character conflict and moral choices and action packed throughout! :D Clever, observant, witty and action packed throughout! :D

[Richard Archambault · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read a book about the origins of the Borg. Well, I guess that's what I got, but I wish I had just read the "Cliff's Notes" on Memory Alpha instead. So often throughout this trilogy did I want to just give up and quit, but a strange sort of fascination kept me going: how many times would I read the terms "piping-hot" (twice within the space of a couple of paragraphs!) or "rebuked" or "cut and run"? Many, many times, among many other repeated terms. Even worse was the "attractive Eurasian facial features" or some variety of it, especially in this, the 3rd book. We get it, she's of a mixed European and Asian background, and she's attractive. We don't need to hear it every time there's a mention of her!

Also, as I said while reading Mere Mortals, I am seriously tired of the "endless series of new names and characters introduced, with random details that make me wonder if I should care about them or not (the answer is usually “no”)." I don't want to read another book like that. We don't need to know the name and background of every single person who does something! They can be "red-shirts" just like on TV; have them do their thing and/or get killed, and be done with it. It's very distracting to see all those names come up.

I guess this is more of a personal dislike, but I did not appreciate the mass destruction done by the Borg. 63 billion dead, so many worlds destroyed... It felt like overkill (pun not intended) to me.

I also thought that the way Sedín became essentially evil, completely different from what the Caeliar were, to be hard to believe. It seemed to me like too much of a drastic change in "personality." So I'm not satisfied with this origin story.

Lastly, the way the Borg were "converted".. it felt a bit too deus ex machina to me, *and* I don't understand why the billions of Borg weren't given the choice to rejoin their homes, instead of being essentially forced from one Collective to another.

Wow, I haven't written this long of a review in a long time, if ever! I guess I am just too disappointed and frustrated by the whole series. I may or may not read other Star Trek books in the future; if I do, though, I'll bail early if I get annoyed by it. Full disclosure: I started reading Before Dishonor, a book about Voyager and Seven of Nine, about a month ago, because of good reviews, but I ended up bailing on it after 10 or so pages. I just couldn't stomach how Janeway felt so different from her tv character. So, that's one more Star Trek book that I couldn't handle. I guess they're not made for me, or me for them!

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to the Borg story and to this specific trilogy here. The trilogy tells the story, somewhat indirectly, of the Borg's origins and ultimate fate.

I believe there's really only one thing I wanted to note, beyond that "satisfying" part: from what happened in this trilogy, I developed the feeling the author loathed Voyager.

The story pulls in people and ships from DS9, TNG, and Voyager. And three specific ships lead the action, with a fourth being very important to the storyline but not active (Columbia): Enterprise, lead by Captain Jean-Luc Picard Picard (TNG) with first officer Commander Worf (TNG/DS9), Commander Dr. Beverly Crusher-Picard (TNG) (more of a bystander than anything else throughout the three books, oh, she does stuff, important stuff, but barely has any lines, so to speak), with appearanes by Commander Geordi La Forge (TNG); Aventine (sp?), lead by Captain Ezri Dax (DS9), and no one else from the various TV series; and the Titan, captained by Captain William T. Riker (TNG), Commander Tuvok (Voyager), and Commander Deanna Troi (TNG).

Other Voyager people seen, barely: Captain Chakoty, commanding Voyager, Paris, on Voyager, and Seven of Nine - on the Federation presidents advisory crew about the Borg.

This is kind of why I had the idea the author loathed Voyager. It was right there, the ship. It could have easily been four ships fighting the big fight but the ship, Voyager, was just left there, floating, not destroyed but under repairs . . . and then the author forgot it was there? I guess? And the crewmembers from the Voyager show (including Tuvok & 7 of 9), no matter where they actually were stationed during the story, were ineffectual and laughable. Of no importance what-so-ever other than to be seen as, basically cameos, as basically "see, this also includes Voyager people!". On the other hand, DS9 had only two people involved in the storyline, both super important with many lines, but one counts as being also on TNG (Worf), and the other was a last minute addition to DS9 (Erzi, sure, Dax was there from the beginning, but not Erzi - heh, that looks insane, eh? Well, Dax is a symbotic species, and the worm, Dax, was there from the beginning, just in a different body than Erzi). If anything, this is more of a TNG book than anything else. But, still, the author seems to loath Voyager.

(side note: cameo mention, just mention, of characters author was involved with in that Corps of Engineers series)

Rating: 4.98
March 17 2023

[Thursday Simpson]

This book was my favorite in the trilogy. It had some of the same problems the first two books had for me, especially in the first half of this novel.

This book, and the whole Destiny trilogy, really focuses in on the, "US Military in Space," aspects of Star Trek. Those elements are my least favorite things about Star Trek.

And also, the three book pregnancy narrative centering around Dianna was just kind of obtuse. I didn't like it and it felt to me at times like anti abortion propaganda.

I also found it a little goofy at the end of the novel, when Picard declares he believes in a higher power.

I guess that makes sense. The trilogy is called Destiny. Given how the plot develops and resolves, it doesn't not make sense. That's fine. Maybe it's just that coupled with what felt to me like anti abortion propaganda and a lot of hyper masculine tones throughout this trilogy it just didn't quite do it for me.

Regardless. About halfway through this novel get's really good. And the last half is really good. It's paced nice and slow but also fairly aggressive, too. All three novels end up working together really well.

And I'm really glad I read all of them. They end up being quite a good narrative, all together.

I guess I do wish there was more Voyager and DS9 characters throughout this trilogy. A lot of people were missing which is unfortunate. But one has to limit scope with hard and set limits sometimes. And it's also entirely possible I missed books where definitive events write some of these characters out of this timeline.

All in all - I still prefer the Picard timeline. I like the way Jean Luc is developed in the lead up novels to Season 1 of Picard and his character throughout seasons 1 and 2. I also prefer the way Seven of Nine is developed in that timeline as well.

However.

This timeline is also very good. And filled with so many rich stories and rich possibilities for stories.

[Alicea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek Destiny #3: Lost Souls by David Mack concludes the trilogy that began with Gods of Night and continued with Mere Mortals. If you've been following along with my reviews over the last several days you'll recall that I wasn't completely blown away by the last two books and a lot was riding on the final installment. *drumroll* My faith was justified and I was not disappointed! While it did take me ages to read, I definitely enjoyed this one the most. My suspicions about the Borg were confirmed (don't worry no spoilers here!) and all of the loose ends were neatly tied up. (As in any good Star Trek episode!) It's pretty much impossible for me to go into any details about the plot of this book without completely giving away everything from the first two so if you haven't read them read no further. Essentially, Erika Hernandez has essentially joined the crew of the Aventine and the Federation is in a much better position to counteract the Borg attacks since the Caeliar's powers have adapted her to telepathically link to the hive mind and impersonate the Borg Queen. O_O Things get super serious super quick and the puzzle pieces really start to fall into place about the Borg origin. It has it all: tearful farewells, emotional death scenes, close calls, and happy reunions. I personally think this would have worked better with two books instead of the three but if wishes were horses I would definitely never have gone horseback riding. 9/10 for Lost Souls.

PS Picard finally starts to resemble himself and I like him again.

PPS I still haven't watched Nemesis but I know a key plot point and I am not happy.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I’ve finished the third book in this trilogy, I’m going to review the story as a whole and append this to the end of my semi-reviews of the first two books.

…which leads me to my only real gripe with the Destiny trilogy, which is that while I understand that they are part of a longer story arc, they do not have self-contained arcs with a beginning, middle, and end. I realize this might feel like a bizarre nitpicking criticism to get hung up on, but when I read three books, I want to feel like I’ve read three books, not a single long book.

That being said, however, the story is fucking phenomenal. This was my first experience with the Star Trek novels, and it’s everything I wanted: sci-fi-scale problems, interesting new alien races, crossover between lots of series, and the return of a lot of fan-favorite characters. I loved hearing what Simon Tarses has been up to since The Drumhead, and I loved getting to spend so much time with Ezri Dax.

Some of the middle section with the Caeliar dragged a bit in the moment, but I realized later why it was necessary.

David Mack did a great job with the macro and micro scale stuff, taking breaks from the larger action to “zoom in” on the individuals in the thick of that action.

I’m not sure if I’d necessarily recommend Destiny as anyone’s first Trek novel, though, because I am worried about how I will return to smaller-scale stories after this huge epic one. But maybe if you’re only planning to ever read a single Trek novel, this (meaning the entire Destiny trilogy, which I would argue is just a single long novel) might be my pick.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amazing conclusion to this excellent trilogy was, by far, the best Star Trek novel I've ever read, and among the best sci-fi I've ever read. The seemingly disparate storylines that went on throughout the trilogy were weaved together for a truly fascinating conclusion. We learn the origin of the Borg and the nature of the Queen, at least in the Litverse. I think that this is a much better story than anything screenwriters could come up with. I was glued to this book the entire time I read it, and had a hard time putting it down.
My only gripe is that the climax seems quite unlikely, and is too ethereal. Up until that point, it had been pretty fast-paced and filled with some amazing action sequences. I really can't describe it without spoilers, but suffice it to say that the Borg get within minutes of a knockout blow and then abandon it immediately. To take out the Borg, someone has to get inside their mind. That's fine, but it's hard to write in a way that's exciting.
Putting aside those shortcomings, every Trek fan with even a remote interest in the Litverse needs to read this trilogy, and this book in particular. As I said, it's easily the best Trek literature I've ever read. Up until now, I thought the post-Nemesis novels were pretty much doomed to mediocrity, but this renewed my zeal to continue seeing where the Pocket Books authors took the franchise. Of course, the downside is that I doubt many other books will equal or top this trilogy, but nevertheless, my interest is renewed.
Bravo Mr. Mack!

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I did wind up only reading the dialogue in this one (and skipping the battle scenes where everyone dies in the end anyway), and it was much less aggravating. I only read the Caeliar chapters, since it was the only "new" content and THAT part delivered what I was looking for. I actually didn't see the twist of one of the Caelier who had been slung through time being the origin of the Borg coming until the scene where the first two drones are assimilated. But I gotta say, despite everything that resulted from it, those MACOs had it coming. I'm glad they suffered before they died! Sry.

Anyway, this series should have been one book, with 90% being the Caeliar, their interactions with the first crew, and their role in the resolution, with only a few ships from the "current" TNG timeline cameo-ing toward the end to give context. Three books led to way, way too much bloat and way, way too much utter devastation of the Federation. Entire core worlds being radioactively sterilized? Really? And they all just bounce back by the time the next book is released in two weeks? Come on. The "tension" was utterly hollow and detracted from the actual innovations in the plot.